36. Addison
36
ADDISON
“T his can’t be right,” I said as I looked over the hospital bill they had handed me.
Paid in full.
I had come to the hospital, ready to pay for all of it with my new two million. But then the administrative assistant told me I didn’t owe them anything. And the doctor caught me right as I was walking out and confirmed it had all been paid off.
About a month ago.
Did that mean…
“Take your mom and go live your life,” the doctor said with a kind smile. “You deserve it, Ms. Mercer.”
I had so many questions, but I couldn’t get a single word out of my mouth. I was just stuck there, frozen, staring at the bill. I couldn’t stop looking at the bright red stamp that indicated it had been paid.
The mountain of debt that was suffocating my mother and me was gone, just like that. We were free.
Happiness bubbled in my chest. I couldn’t stop the smile from my face or the tears from filling my eyes.
A gift. But who could have ? —
I knew who.
I remembered walking out of my mother’s hospital room and seeing Warren talking to the doctor. My mind was so busy with my mother’s admission and the truth about my father that I hadn’t even thought twice about it.
But that had been days ago. Not a month.
He paid for it long before I gave in to him.
It had to be him. No one else in the world would do something like this for me.
But why?
You know why, a little voice in my head said.
My heart threatened to break in two inside my chest. Even after everything, he was still taking care of me. Not only had he given me the money, but he had wiped out my mother’s hospital debt. A woman who meant nothing to him.
Yet he still did all that. For me.
Go.
That word and the cold way he’d said it had hurt me, but the longer I removed myself from the situation, the worse I felt about how I treated him the last time we’d been together.
I knew there was something more between us. I loved him.
And if what he’d said back then was true, he had feelings for me as well.
I was the one who ruined it all. I made it all about the money and the contract instead of listening.
To be fair, I had run away. From him. From the vulnerability of what it would mean to lean on his shoulder and just let go of everything. To find comfort in someone else again and open myself up for heartbreak and pain.
I had seen him as a means to an end, but… When had I stopped seeking revenge? Was it that day in the office where they finally spilled everything?
It was earlier than that.
And now all I felt was defeated… and guilty.
The door opened, and my mother came out, her eyes meeting mine. She grimaced, noticing the look on my face.
“What’s the damage?” she asked, her voice hesitant, like she was afraid to ask.
We hadn’t talked much since the last time. At least not about anything substantial, so I didn’t know how to broach the subject with her. I almost wanted to keep this from her for fear that she’d somehow take advantage of the money again, but I thought better of it.
She was human too. She deserved a chance. No matter how unfair she had been to me, I wasn’t the only one who was hurting from what my father had done.
“I think Warren paid for it.”
Her eyes widened. “Did he now?”
“I’m not sure, but I don’t think anyone else would,” I said and looked down the now empty hallway.
“You should go thank him.”
Her words had my skin flushing.
“We aren't working together anymore,” I whispered and sent her a glare when I caught sight of her sly smile.
So she knows more than she let on.
“Uh-huh.”
She started walking down the hallway without another word. My face heated. She must have caught on as soon as she saw us together. I should have known there was no fooling her.
“ Mother! ”
“Lunch is on you! I’m feeling Italian!”
With a sigh, I followed her.
* * *
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Vivian Blake, the reporter from the Rogue Enquirer, asked.
I nodded and sat straighter in my seat. A girl came over and started to fix my hair. Another came to apply powder to my nose.
“I’m sure,” I said with an unwavering voice.
I had slept on it for more than a week. Talked to my friends about it. It was time, and when it was done, it would air just before the auction.
“You know, the last time a reporter trusted you, they got sued up the ass,” she said, her eyes narrowing as if she meant to make sure I wouldn’t be doing that to her.
She was an intelligent woman; her name wasn’t just in the Rogue Enquirer but in multiple papers and news stations. Any news segment she presented was guaranteed to have an audience. And I needed that audience.
Her short hair was blunt and fell just below her chin, giving her a serious I’m-not-messing-around look. Her eyes were constantly on me, searching for any tell that I might be lying.
When I didn’t answer, she crossed her long legs. She was wearing a pantsuit, an odd choice for her role; I would have bet on her wearing a dress or something more casual.
She means business.
“This is about fixing wrongs,” I finally said. “Besides, if you take yourself as a serious journalist, this is a story you’d want to share, no matter the consequences.“
She held my gaze for a little longer, then a smile pulled at her lips.
“Okay, then,” she replied as she cleared her throat. “Let’s get started.”
My heart skipped a beat when the cameras started rolling. There was no other lead-up. No prep. She knew what she needed to do and just jumped right into it.
“Good evening. Today, I have a very special guest on my show. You may remember Ms. Addison Mercer, daughter of Alec Mercer, a once-renowned millionaire who infamously got caught in a corruption scandal, which led to him later taking his own life. Ms. Mercer, how are you?”
Jesus. Her voice was sweet, but her gaze was sharp.
I started sweating.
“I’ve been good,” I said with a forced smile, folding my hands in my lap to stop them from shaking.
“Tell us why you’re here tonight. Why come forward now?”
This is it. Deep breaths. In and out.
“I’m here to shed some light on my father’s character.”
She sat up straight, playing the game, even though she already knew what I was here to say.
“To try and salvage his reputation?” she asked, raising a perfectly plucked brow.
“On the contrary. To destroy whatever’s left of it,” I replied and grabbed a large folder from my bag, which I handed to her. “In this file, you will see more of my father’s misdeeds, including the names of over three hundred injured, some now dead, employees because of him.”
“This is quite the accusation.” She raised the folder, showing the camera just how large it was. “Are you aware of the seriousness of this? What it can mean for you? You do share a last name with him.”
I gave her a smile.
“The families he hurt deserve justice. They have already been given restitution, but it’s not enough. The public needs to know what he’s done.”
“What brought this on?” she asked. “Why now?”
I rolled my shoulder back.
“Because I met someone whose life was changed because of my father. His own father was taken from him, and I saw the pain it caused him. I wished I could take it all away. If I could, I would.”
I looked at the camera, making sure my seriousness came through.
Warren, this is for you.
“And to Warren King,” I said, keeping my voice as strong as possible. “I was wrong to slander you back then. I didn’t know just how awful he was, and I was hell-bent on taking you down with us. You didn’t deserve it. If not for you, who knows how many more people could have died? I’m sorry… for everything.”